"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" Channeling Shakespearian Themes

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. While sitting in the audience, marveling at the dynamic relationships between characters, I couldn’t help but notice some themes bubbling up from my repertoire of Shakespeare. One play I noticed a likeness to was King Lear.

The most glaring similarity I observed was between Big Daddy and King Lear. Both characters are suffering from old age and illness; both also have to address the issues of inheritance. Big daddy has 28,000 acres he must decide what to do with and King Lear has an entire kingdom to portion. These two heads of the household also favor the younger child. Although Brick is an alcoholic who refuses to sleep with his unfaithful wife and bear children, Big Daddy still prefers him over his older son Gooper, who has a loving wife and five children with another on the way. Similarly, King Lear preferred his youngest daughter Cordelia to his two older daughters.

The other main similarity I observed was between Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Cymbeline. The parallel I noticed in this instance was between Innogen and Posthumus and Brick and Maggie. One person in the relationships is from a rich family while the other is woefully poor (Innogen and Brick are rich while Posthumus and Maggie come from poor families). The other similar experience between these two sets of couples is infidelity. Maggie slept with Brick’s best friend Skipper, ruining their relationship and causing Brick to resort to drinking to deal with the “mendacity”. In Cymbeline, although Innogen does not actually sleep with Giachimo, Posthumus believes she has. This breaks his heart and nearly drives him mad, causing him to orchestrate her murder.

Overall, I found Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to be quite enjoyable. The character development and exposition of relationships was remarkable. I also found the resemblance between Tennessee William’s and William Shakespeare’s writing style and use of themes interesting.